I wrote about meeting Dr. Barnard and Chuck Carrol in last week’s post and this week wanted to share a bit about the podcast experience. Spoiler alert, I had a blast!!

Dr. Barnard and Chuck remembered my name from the night before and greeted me by name when I got to see them again. I was beaming.

We purchased VIP tickets which included a mocktail and dinner reception. Our hosts were so generous with their time and had a professional photographer on hand to take pictures for their guests. Dr. Kristi Funk happened to be around when we were taking our picture, so I asked her to join us. My mom passed away from breast cancer at only 48 years of age, and Dr. Funk’s my GO TO resource when it comes to avoiding breast cancer. She is a true wealth of knowledge and like all of the plant based doctors I follow, has actually read the research.

A major part of my WHY for losing this last 30 lbs comes from Dr. Funk. She talks about boulders that can negatively impact our health such as living a sedentary lifestyle and one boulder is being obese or overweight. I have had so many early deaths in my family which I talk about here, and I would like to avoid being one of them. I have worked hard at removing the ‘boulders’ Dr. Funk talks about. My last boulder is to lose this darn final 30 lbs.

Another huge part of my way is to be my best self so that I can be a shining magnet of the vegan lifestyle to hopefully inspire others to change and therefore, reduce animal and planetary suffering.

The energy in the room was epic. I’ve never been to a live taping but this event far exceeded my expectations. My husband and I were able to sit in the very FRONT ROW and as a complete surprise to us MOBY was a special guest. He speaks so succinctly and eloquently about the animals. I loved hearing him speak along with his funny sense of humor. I was grinning from ear to ear soooo relating to everything he said.

The podcast episode has been released and you can listen here!

I’m going to stop posting weekly weigh ins for now until I get off maintenance mode and back on track with weight loss. I’ll use this space for current day reflections whereas my Tuesday posts are past reflections.

There was a lovely lady and her husband who sat behind me at the event and had drove from San Diego. When you have the same obsession with a podcast, it’s easy to make instant friends. I can’t even tell you how FUN it was to watch a live episode. I could feel her energy behind me – nodding in agreement and she even answered a question correctly Dr. Funk had for the crowd And naturally, I was jealous she answered correctly since I couldn’t think of the right answer haha. It was sort of like watching the episode with myself. I could so tell this person appreciated everything about Chuck and his podcast. When I watch at home, I often try to guess what the answers will be and I could feel this person is similar.

I’m also part of a support group called Plantspiration for those who are transitioning to a whole food, plant based diet. While I transitioned two years ago, I love this group and the connection, even if it is virtual. I was so lucky to get to meet one of our Plantspiration members, Natalie, in person at the event. I’ve even went on a vegan yoga retreat with another Plantapiration member Mary and had the trip of a lifetime. Anyways, Natalie heard Chuck give me a shoutout at the start of the podcast and came up to say hi afterwards. You can listen to Chuck’s shoutout to me here. It’s right at the start of the episode. I’m feeling so gosh darn lucky and taken care of and that I have all these people rooting for me.

Many thanks to PCRM and to Chuck for this podcast packed with life saving information and for hosting this first ever LIVE event.

Until next time, keep it plant based.

Michelle 😊

p.s. Dr. Funk has been featured on the podcast tons, but here’s one of my fav episodes: What you Eat May Help Reduce Your Risk for Breast Cancer and the Top 12 Foods to Prevent Breast Cancer. She also has a book called, Breasts: The Owner’s Manual that I highly recommend.